An Academically-minded Doctor Who Site

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More than just nostalgia, “The Zygon Invasion” is a study of contrasts of modern and classic era Who. It follows Terror of the Zygons much better than “Day of the Doctor.” Part of the show’s longevity is its ability to express its premise with different types of stories. Most of new Who stories fall into […]

War, what is it good for? Whether it be between two people, entire countries, or between races of beings…absolutely nothing. “The only way anyone can live in peace, is if they’re prepared to forgive.”Clara has found herself within a dream before. She knows what to do. “Dream checks” we hear her saying as she flips […]

Peter Capaldi presents continuing evidence that he is growing into the 12th Doctor’s regeneration through superb performances in his own style. Jenna Coleman (aka the Impossible Girl) is, perhaps, having her best Series yet!“Once upon a time…there were three doctors, two Osgoods, one peace treaty.” After these words scroll our screen, we are launched into […]

Maisie Williams’ performance in “The Woman Who Lived” is testimony to her acting ability. In one week’s time, she was able to take Ashildr through centuries of shifts and changes, and we could feel those in the development of her personality—from the pain and anguish, to her need to shut down emotion, to the disavowal […]

“The Girl Who Died” is the best written, least formulaic story of the Capaldi era. Historical and scientific implausibilities are outweighed by overall emotion and character growth. The Doctor fights Vikings, alien invaders, and his own conscience.Like most of Series 9, “The Girl Who Died” (written by Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat) has a terrific […]

What fourth wall? The TARDIS is bigger on the inside, but is it big enough to allow millions a front-row seat to the Doctor as he walks the corridors narrating fairy tales and admonishing viewers to google bootstrap paradox, which may be necessary knowledge to unravel the knots in the rest of the episode? In […]

The action starts right after last week’s cliffhanger “The Magician’s Apprentice“, where it looked like Clara and Missy were killed by Daleks. As it turns out, Missy faked their deaths with a Vortex Manipulator/Sonic Screwdriver hack. Introduced in this episode, it comes off as the deus ex machina plot bailout from the Russell T. Davies […]

Niels Bohr would be intrigued by Toby Whitehouse’s refreshing, back-to-the-basics episode. “Under the Lake” is far less “accept it” showy entertainment and more sci-fi story. What a novel concept for Doctor Who. Whitehouse has an ongoing history with the show. He began writing episodes in 2006 (“School Reunion“), beginning under Russell T. Davies and continuing […]

Series 9 of Doctor Who started off with a bang, delivering the good, the bad and the WTF we’ve come to expect. “The Magician’s Apprentice” is half of a 2-part story. Here’s what I got out of the season’s big premiere.Have You Ever Seen a Hand Mine?When done well, the time travel genre can express […]

Steven Moffat has been the showrunner and head writer of Doctor Who since 2010, when Russell T Davies left the show. The first Doctor that he wrote for was Matt Smith, and he continued in the 8th season with Peter Capaldi. As a writer under Davies, Moffat wrote award-winning stories: “The Empty Child”/”The Doctor Dances,” […]